Do you find the Fitbit HR to be accurate?

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kelhea
kelhea Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm thinking about getting the Fitbit charge HR to help keep track of my heart rate during exercise to get a more accurate amount of calories burned but I'm hearing that they're not very accurate at all... Any suggestion? Or if you have one do you like it?

Replies

  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    It is more accurate than guessing.

    I have found it to be useful for tracking BMR and calorie burns in exercise. My aikido workouts can vary quite a lot in intensity and manually logging Martial arts using the MFP calculator was giving my much bigger numbers than what I actually burn.

    For me allowing Fitbit to adjust my daily goal wasn't working well so I only use it to determine my daily BMR and I manually enter my intentional exercise using the numbers I get from my Fitbit. Seems to be working pretty well that way.

    Anyway yes The Charge HR is useful. I like mine quite a lot.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    It matches what I get from my real HRM most of the time. As Shadowfax says, it's better than guessing!
  • neldabg
    neldabg Posts: 1,452 Member
    edited August 2016
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    In general, yes. I like my Charge HR. However, I noticed that the heart rate feature does lag behind sometimes. For example, after walking briskly for a bit, it might still show my resting HR, but then my actual HR from walking will appear after a while for just as long as I was walking, even if I am standing still. Other times, the HR seems to be right on par with my level of activity. Idk. I figure it all evens out since I'm maintaining just fine.
    The HR does give more accurate real-time readings when I set it on workout mode.
  • kcn2bluesky
    kcn2bluesky Posts: 187 Member
    edited August 2016
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    I have a Charge HR as well and love it! I run longer distances, averaging between 25 and 30 miles per week total, and I use a Garmin 350XT along with my Fitbit for all my workouts. I find that with my MFP profile set to sedentary (which I am for most of the day at work), I can eat back all the calories that my Fitbit gives me. Having my Fitbit encourages me to get up and move more throughout the day, and I'm in the best shape of my life right now at 53.

    Well worth the purchase price!
  • JessicaMcB
    JessicaMcB Posts: 1,503 Member
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    Mine is fairly accurate. The HR suggests my RHR is 41ish, in reality it's closer to 48 on average but still pretty close
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
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    Yes. I've had mine for over a year and it seems to be quite accurate.
  • genpopadopolous
    genpopadopolous Posts: 411 Member
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    I have no idea if it's accurate. But it is consistent.

    As long as it's inaccurate in the same way every day the data is still incredibly helpful.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I love mine and find it to be quite accurate about 90% of the time. That said, the first few weeks were kind of off. But I've found the longer I wear it, the more accurate it's gotten. I wear mine 24/7 and only take off to charge during my showers, when swimming, doing dishes and when I'm pushing a cart (goes in my pocket so my steps will count).

    And I don't know if it makes a difference but I wear mine with the clasp on top and the sensor on the inside of my wrist.
  • kelhea
    kelhea Posts: 52 Member
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    Thanks for the all the responses I think I'll get one!
  • Illyrien
    Illyrien Posts: 7 Member
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    I read a bunch of reviews before buying, and yeah, its not perfect, but wrist trackers really cant be. I am however quite happy about the purchase. The data I get from it is quite interesting, and has been a huge help in my recent weight loss.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,478 Member
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    HR monitors only work for steady state cardio, and only if you know your maximum heartrate. For anything else than cardio without any breaks: imagine you do an exercise and do a break for a moment. Your heartrate doesn't go down in that time, yet you only sit around. Thus the HR monitor overestimates the calorie expenditure. Maximum heartrate: equations like 220-age don't work for about 60% of all people based on what I read. If your maximum HR is higher your heartrate goes much higher than 'expected' and thus the calorie burn calculated is too high. It would be too low if your max HR is lower than the equation. Likewise, your HR is higher when it's hot outside, if you have a mild cold, maybe if you take asthma medications, overactive thyroid or many other reasons. HR is generally not a good measure for calorie burn.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited August 2016
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    It's okay, definitely better than guesstimating.

    I don't have mine linked so that I can manually add exercise calories in as I don't want my step calories counted.

    It does pick up anxiety attacks and bouts of anger, though. It once auto-logged a 3am anxiety attack as an outdoor bike ride. I was very amused by this.
  • sweetpea813
    sweetpea813 Posts: 112 Member
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    The Polar HRM with the chest strap is more accurate than a wrist one. I returned my Fitbit HR and got the Fitbit Alta and wear my Polar HRM in my group fitness classes.

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